


The Galaxy Paths

by JKlog



Series: The Galaxy Paths [1]
Category: Spore (Video Game), The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Crossover, Gen, Sentinel Bingo, The Grox - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-04 17:50:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15846309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JKlog/pseuds/JKlog
Summary: Blair from the Sandburg Empire finds a wonderful ally, James from the Ellison Empire.Together, they will sail through the galaxy.





	1. Prompt: Ancestors

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Bluewolf for the beta work.
> 
> If you want to learn what Spore is, watch this video:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJqHUZYz720

[](https://imgur.com/VejNF0i)

 

1 - Ancestors

 

He had recently received the title of "The Great." He was missing three medals to be named "The Legendary". He didn’t doubt that he would succeed, despite his young age. As messenger and vanguard of his Empire, Blair of the Sandburg Empire had won many alliances with other Empires. He had also established many trade routes with other star systems. He was well known and renowned in his sector of the Galaxy. He had also made some enemies, but they were few and not very dangerous.

Blair was a shaman. While walking through the corridors of the city hall of his hometown on the planet Tepsis, receiving the greetings of admiration from those he encountered along the way, he was thinking that he hadn’t meditated for a long time. Actually, he needed to do a spirit walk. Meet his ancestors.

He left the town hall and went to the house he shared with several of his fellow citizens. He crossed the flowery gardens with their profusely decorated fountains. He received more greetings as people recognized him. At that time, at dawn, many people left to work in the red spice packing factory, which was what was produced in Tepsis. After working, many went to the entertainment center to get distracted.

He had to take advantage of the time he could be on his planet, in his city. Because he’d soon have to embark on another mission. So he hurried his steps. When he arrived at the huge house where he lived, he entered and climbed the stairs to his room. It was a fairly large place, because of his rank. It had a private bathroom. He took a shower and put on comfortable clothes. He had fasted all day, so he was ready for what he was going to do. He opened a window that opened onto an interior garden. A warm summer breeze entered the room.

He lit seven candles in a semicircle on the floor in front of him. He sat in the lotus position. He closed his eyes and let air into his lungs, feeling the soft, blue spice smell of the candles. He counted to three and let out the air. He did that several times. When he opened his eyes, he was standing in front of his body, which was still in a lotus position on the floor. He looked at himself, feeling very strange. It was the first time he had achieved this. He tried to touch his body, but his hand went through the flesh, feeling absolutely nothing.

Suddenly, a being in tribal clothes, and holding in his right hand a kind of staff, appeared, standing behind Blair’s body.He looked him straight in the eye and said, "What are you looking for, young shaman?"

"I'm looking for knowledge. I want to know where I come from."

"Your ancestors are waiting for you," said the shaman of the past, because that was what he seemed to be, and he raised his left hand, from the middle of which came a light that enveloped Blair’s spirit.

The next thing Blair knew was that he was in the middle of space, looking at his planet from far away. He could see the turquoise oceans and the vast tracts of scarlet land, where the red spice geysers were scattered profusely. Suddenly, an object appeared in his field of vision. A meteor!

The object fell rapidly towards Tepsis. When it hit the planet's atmosphere, it ignited into fire and split into hundreds of pieces. Blair could see clearly how in one of those pieces that had fallen in the ocean there was a special particle. Life! A small cell ventured into the warm waters of the primitive planet Tepsis. Soon it split, multiplied, and Blair could see, in an accelerated way (he was sure that process should have taken thousands, if not millions of years), that these unicellular beings differed from each other by what they ate and the way they moved.

When they became multicellular, there were vegetables and animals. There were some who ate plants, others who were carnivores and others who were omnivores. One of the beings captured Blair's attention. It was herbivorous, and its color was pale blue, like the skin of the ones of the Sandburg Empire. As it reproduced, it acquired new skills, such as cilia or other means of propulsion. But the main thing was that this species never hurt other beings. Although it was several times very close to being devoured by those others.

Soon that being found itself too evolved to remain in the water. It developed legs and ventured out of the sea. It was not the only one. Blair found that he identified with one of them – although he was sure that ‘he’ covered many generations. He found a place to make a nest. There his species reproduced. But he wasn’t going to stay there forever. He went out to travel the world, making friends among other species. His friendly nature led him to avoid those who were aggressive and allied with those who were captivated by his abilities.

Each time his brain grew more and more. He also developed arms, which would be very useful later. Until it reached a point where he could no longer live in a nest. He needed a roof over his head. Also, use tools to ensure his subsistence. Thus the tribe emerged. Blair saw how they built a hut that would serve as a refuge for the next generations. They dressed themselves with feathers and tree leaves. They put ornaments on their arms and on their heads. They gathered fruits and algae to eat. They had also been able to tame an animal and had its eggs to eat, too. They were no longer completely herbivorous.

They were very friendly and sociable, like their ancestors. There was a chief who distributed the tasks and guided them when they went to visit other tribes to impress them with their musical skills, playing wooden horns, maracas or didgeridoos. Sometimes they impressed those tribes so much, that they became their allies and then brought them gifts. In addition, they shared their knowledge regarding work tools or weapons. Although in the latter, those of the Sandburg tribe, as Blair began to call them, had no interest.

The Sandburg tribe added an image carved in wood to their totem every time they allied with a tribe, to keep their achievements in mind. The image had the colors of the tribe to which they had allied. The color of the Sandburg tribe was blue. In addition, the main hut of the tribe became larger and more decorated. Finally, the Sandburgs had allied with all the tribes of the planet. His totem was complete. It was time to continue to the next step in evolution.

The chief gathered his tribe and suggested that they erect a building to be their town hall. Everybody cheered in agreement. A member of the tribe suggested that they build a vehicle. All returned to cheer. Another suggested that they cook a pie. Everyone looked at him in dismay. Finally, they agreed to build a town hall. They engaged in the task with enthusiasm. After a lot of work, they managed to build it. Then, they made the land vehicle. In addition, they built walls around the city to defend it from possible attacks. After that came houses for citizens, factories and places of entertainment. The factories were in charge of processing the red spice, and through its commercialization the city obtained income. The land vehicles were in charge of claiming spice geysers for the city.

Almost immediately other nations emerged, each with its distinctive color, as the tribes had been. Some had military cities, some religious cities, others were mercantilist cities. But they all produced red spice. That was why claiming spice geysers could be crucial for the survival of a city. For now only the red spice was known, but Blair knew that there were many types of spice in the galaxy, as the Sandburgs would learn in the future.

The Sandburg nation had only one city, at first, but soon expanded to others. Some nations were openly aggressive, and left his city no choice but to defend itself. But the Sandburgs, like their ancestors, were not aggressive, they believed in the power of ideas. That's why, when they got a city to join their nation, it was through the power of conversion to their ideas, not the power of weapons. The technological advances led to the construction of marine and aerial vehicles. That increased the power of their ability to convert other cities to their ideas.

One by one, all nations joined the Sandburg nation. With global domination, came the responsibility to advance technologically. The planet became too small to sustain them, they needed to expand in the galaxy. Blair watched as they developed the first spacecraft of what would be the Sandburg Empire.

And then, in the blink of an eye, he saw himself again in his room. His body was in the same position in which he had left it, which was to be expected. Behind his body, the individual in tribal dress looked at him questioningly.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes, now I know where I come from. Now I understand why we are the way we are."

"You must know that everything you saw took several billion years to happen. Your vision was very accelerated."

"Yes, I supposed so," Blair said.

"Now I have to give you a very useful tool, and I give it to you as a shaman. It's the ‘return ticket’. Being on any planet during a mission, when you use it you can immediately return to your home world."

"Thank you, Great Shaman," Blair replied, not knowing where he had gotten that title, but knowing it was correct, however. The image of the shaman faded until it disappeared completely. Blair thought about how he would go back to his body. He decided that he would sit in the same place, since he could go through his body without problems.

Seconds later, he opened his eyes and found the candles still lit in front of him. It had seemed to him that he had been out of his body for several hours, but it seemed that it had only been a few minutes. Maybe the perception of time in the spiritual world was something different. He blew out the candles and got up off the floor. He stretched to test the muscles of his arms and torso. Against what he expected, he did not feel stiff at all. He looked out the window.The sun was already hidden below the horizon. It was dinner time, but he wasn’t hungry. Strange, considering that he had fasted all day. He decided to go to bed early, the next day he would have to get up early to prepare his next mission.

 

tbc...


	2. Prompt: Out of the Past

2 - Out of the Past

 

Blair entered the dining room where breakfast was served at that time. He took a tray from a table and stood in line. Despite his high rank, he had to stand in line like everyone else. They served him scrambled eggs and seaweed fritters. He smiled when he saw that there was sweet purple spice pudding, the most expensive spice in the galaxy, and asked for a little. It was rare to find that pudding, so he took the opportunity. To drink, he asked for a drink made with yellow spice. He liked its slightly acid taste.

He smiled again when he saw that his progenitor, Naomi, was sitting at one of the tables. He approached her and sat next to her. She greeted him with a broad smile.

"Blair! Good Morning!"

"Good morning, Naomi. How are you?"

"Very well, thanks. Are you going to stay longer this time?"

"Unfortunately, no. Tomorrow I have to go on another mission."

"Oh, what a shame! I was thinking of inviting you to a concert in one of the entertainment centers."

"Maybe another time."

"What is the mission about?"

"I have to try to get an alliance with the Ellison Empire." Naomi looked surprised.

"The Ellison Empire?"

"Yes, its capital is on the planet Bal, in the Geron-3 system."

"I met someone from that planet, some time ago. He was a Trader, who had made a lot of money with his business. His name was William," Naomi said, putting on a dreamy face, as she always did when she remembered things out of the past.

"He told me that he had a son with problems with his senses. He asked me if I knew a way to cure him."

Naomi was an expert in natural medicine, and had made many trips to other systems to investigate the cures they used.

"Problems with his senses?" Blair was interested. "What kind of problems?"

"He told me that his son had moments when his senses became so acute that they caused him pain. He suffered from constant headaches. He also had moments when he was paralyzed, and seemed unaware of things around him. Something very strange, really."

Blair was thinking. He remembered hearing about those things before.

"I remember that in my preparation as a Shaman, one of the professors told me that I would find my true mission in this life when I met a Sentinel. When I asked him what a Sentinel was, he told me that he was a being with five genetically heightened senses and with a deep compulsion to protect his own. Could it be that that Trader’s son is a Sentinel?"

"It's possible. I've never heard of that, though, and I've traveled and learned a lot," Naomi said, "But let's eat, or our food will get cold."

"Yes, you're right."

They both hurried to eat the eggs, fritters and pudding. When they finished, they returned the trays and left the house. They stopped in the garden, facing one of the many fountains that were there. They said goodbye, not knowing when they would see each other again.

A few tears escaped from Naomi's green eyes.

.................................................

 

With his cargo bay loaded with 99 units of red spice, Blair left for the Geron-3 system. He hoped to sell them there and establish a business relationship with the Ellison Empire. He knew that on the planet Bal they produced yellow spice, which was highly valued in Tepsis.

While he was navigating through space from one star system to another, he thought about Naomi, and what she had said about William's son from the Ellison Empire. If that son was a Sentinel, and his destiny as a Shaman was to meet a Sentinel, he might find his destiny on this journey. Would he be lucky enough to meet a Sentinel soon? He hoped so.

When he arrived at the Geron-3 system, he requested permission of the local Empire, through the intercom, to place his spaceship in orbit of the planet Bal. The permission was granted. Although the Ellison Empire was an empire of warriors, they were quite friendly. They asked him the purpose of his visit. He told them that he had red spice to trade. They bought 50 units, at a very good price. He, in turn, bought 20 units of yellow spice. The merchandise went up and down through the beam. It was a good first step on the road to achieving an alliance with this Empire.

"It would be good for our Empires to work together," Blair said over the intercom.

"Those of the Ellison Empire do not trust strangers. First you will have to prove that you are worthy of our trust."

"I'll do whatever it takes," Blair replied.

"That is a good attitude. We will give you a mission. Our neighbors in the Wortgon Empire like tribal artifacts. You will have to search for these artifacts on three planets in three different star systems, and then take them to the planet Cynas in the Acros system. When you have finished the mission, return here to collect your prize, 60,000 sporebucks."

"Where will I find those planets?"

"We will send the information to your computer."

The communication was cut off and the information on the star systems and the planets to which he had to go was displayed on Blair's computer screen. First, he went to the Pactra-4 system, to the planet Vercon. It was a T0 planet, that is, it had no atmosphere or signs of life. He ran it with his radar on. Soon the signal began to sound. He found the artifact at the base of a mountain and lifted it into his hold with the beam. First stage of the mission, achieved.

Now he had to go to the planet Eladee, in the Alinejeros-2 system. It was a T1 planet, with just vegetation and a few animals. He entered its atmosphere and saw that its waters were turquoise as in his home planet, but the soil was yellow. It was hard for him to raise the device with the beam, because it was under some trees. He lifted several of them to his cargo bay, as well as some bushes (unintentionally). He got rid of the bushes so as not to occupy space unnecessarily.

Then he went to the planet Hogel in the Transvisarea-3 system. It was a beautiful planet, T3. If it hadn’t been because it already had an intelligent species living in it, surely Blair would have established a colony. But one of the unwritten rules of the Galaxy was that, if there was an intelligent species in the system, it couldn’t be colonized. Although it was a primitive civilization, as in this case. The dominant species was in the tribal stage. Blair lifted the artifact without any problem. He immediately went to the planet Cynas, in the Acros system, capital of the Wortgon Empire, as ordered.

The Wortgon were very happy with the three artifacts. But his goal was an alliance with the Ellison Empire, and he headed for its capital, hoping to achieve it. The Ellisons were very pleased. He was paid the 60,000 sporebucks, which Blair didn’t really need, having more than a million in his account. It was the moment of the great proposal.

"I think our empires would benefit from an alliance," Blair said, crossing his fingers.

"Yes, we accept."

Blair did a small dance of victory in the cabin of his ship. He had achieved the goal of his mission! The Ellison Empire was now their ally!

"We are waiting for 'The Great' in our capital city to sign the Alliance papers," said the representative of the Ellison Empire on the intercom.

"I'll go immediately," Blair said. He lowered the ship to the entrance of the city. A welcome procession was waiting for him. They accompanied him to the City Hall, where he was received by the Governor.

"It's a pleasure to meet 'The Great'. My name is William," said the Governor, smiling. He extended his hand to Blair and he took it, smiling too.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, William of the Ellison Empire. My name is Blair, from the Sandburg Empire."

Behind William stood a Knight, who looked at him with interest. Blair thought it impolite not to greet him and extended his hand to him. The Knight took it, but he didn’t smile.

"My name is James. I'm William's son."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, James," Blair said.

"What’s your profession in your Empire, Blair?"

"I am a Shaman. And you are a Knight, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, I am. At your service, Shaman." Blair smiled at the Knight and was rewarded with a faint smile from him. He wondered if this William would be the one Naomi had known and if his son would be the Sentinel. He would ask him later.

 

tbc...


	3. Prompt: Misunderstandings

While James showed his ship to Blair, he watched him intently, not knowing why he was doing it. He was struck by the color of his skin. It was a color between yellow and pink. Strange. His eyes were blue, like Blair's own, only a little clearer. His hair was brown, like Blair's hair, but short, not long, as Blair had it. His vestments were those of a Knight. A black tunic that reached to his knees, with shoulder pads of metal and leather. He had on his chest a badge, also of metal and leather, which Blair assumed represented the Ellison Empire. The outfit was completed with black leather boots.

"Are you listening to me, Chief?" James asked, as he showed him where he kept bombs that could destroy entire cities.

"Yes, yes, James, the anti-matter bombs," Blair replied, emerging from his stupor. "I also have those, although I've never used them, and I hope I never have to."

"Well, I did use them. I've been in a couple of wars," James said. "You can call me Jim, if you want."

"Okay, Jim."

"Aren’t you at war with the Grox?" Jim asked.

"Fortunately, no. We’ve had visits from them to some of our systems and our allies, but all they have done is check a planet with their ships and then disappear. But we are aware that they are very dangerous."

At that moment, Jim stood still, tilting his head a little, as if he were listening to something.

"My father is coming here."

"How do you know?" Blair asked, amazed, because he didn’t hear anything.

A minute later, William entered the ship.

"'The Great' is being well looked after?" asked the Governor.

"Yes, sir. Can I ask you a question?" Blair asked.

"Sure."

"Did you know a woman called Naomi years ago, who practiced natural medicine?”

William frowned thoughtfully. "Yes, I think I met a lady named Naomi, many years ago. She came from the planet Tepsis."

Blair's face lit up with a smile at that response. Then this was the William who had a son who was possibly a Sentinel!

"She told me that a Trader named William had told her about his son. He said that this son had problems with his senses, that he had heightened senses. Is that son James?"

William stared at him, his expression menacing.

"No son of mine has problems with his senses. And I would appreciate it if you never talked about these misunderstandings again."

With that said, he turned around and left. Blair was bewildered. He turned around to talk to Jim.

"What's wrong with your father?"

"It's a very sensitive issue for him. And for me, too. I don’t want to talk about it," Jim replied, with a serious expression on his face.

"But ..." Blair began, but didn’t continue. He had just signed an alliance with this empire, couldn’t risk that they got angry with him and changed their mind now.

"Come," Jim said, "I'll show you the ship's cargo bay."

Blair followed Jim as he showed him the rest of his ship, but he kept thinking about the subject so sharply rejected by both the father and Jim himself. He made a mental note not to abandon the matter, but to leave it for later.

 

......................................................... ..

 

Blair really liked Jim, so he was glad when he realized that Jim would accompany him on his galactic expeditions. Of course Jim was going to go on his own ship, but at least they could communicate on the intercom. They invited him to dinner and were amazed when he told them that he didn’t eat meat. They served him a plate with eggs and several vegetables which Blair didn’t know, but they tasted good. They were seasoned with red spice, which pleased him very much. He watched with some apprehension as his hosts ate large portions of roast beef. That couldn’t be good for their health.

For dessert, his favorite, purple spice pudding. And after the meal they served him an infusion of green spice. He liked the menthol flavor a lot and knew it was also good for his digestion.

After dinner, they guided him to a luxurious bathroom, where he washed up. When he came out, Jim was waiting for him.

"It's time to leave, Chief." Blair nodded. He liked the nickname Jim had given him. It told him that he had respect for him.

They went to the hall of the City Hall where the authorities were and said goodbye. The Governor greeted Blair with a handshake, but the expression on his face was cold. It seemed he hadn’t forgotten the problem they’d had before. However, he wished him good luck in his expedition. Then he said goodbye to his son with a quick hug. They went to the field where their ships were. They were very different. Blair's had a triangular shape and was blue and light blue; Jim's was circular and its colors were violet and dark green. But now they were sister ships, they would sail the space side by side, ready to help each other if any danger arose. They each went up to his ship. They tested the intercom. Satisfied that everything was fine, they took off.

 

........................................................

 

They wandered through the galaxy without a fixed destination. From time to time, a signal on the radar indicated that there was a valuable object on some planet. They found several very valuable jewels on several uninhabited planets, probably left there by ancient civilizations, now extinct. But some of those times the signal was a trap and several pirate ships attacked them. In those moments, Blair had no choice but to use his weapons, while grateful for the help of the Knight who accompanied him.

When they were near the Infidors system, where Blair's home planet, Tepsis was, they received a signal from another system. It was the Camarmiquile system, where the capital planet of the Taggart Empire was located.

_“Attention! We need your help, 'The Great '. The Grox are attacking us. Come as soon as possible to the planet Agui, in the Camarmiquile system.”_

"The Grox!" said Jim, "I was looking forward to meeting them to liquidate some of their ships. Let's go there, Chief!"

"Yes, Jim, the Taggart Empire is an ally of the Sandburg Empire. It’s my duty to come to their aid. Although I don’t want so much to meet the Grox."

"They are very difficult to annihilate. Their ships are very powerful. We'll have to use the anti-matter missiles."

"Okay, Jim."

Blair didn’t like to have to use those missiles, but there was no other option. They had to travel a stretch between several systems before reaching Camarmiquile. Once there, they descended on the planet Agui. They located the Grox ships with the radar. There were two mother ships that were surrounded by smaller ships. One of the mother ships was over a city and was firing on the buildings, while the smaller ships were trying to destroy the defense turrets.

Blair and Jim approached the city that was being attacked and were immediately surrounded by the Grox ships. Before Blair could react, Jim had taken care of them, so he went to the mother ship and launched an anti-matter missile. It exploded into thousands of pieces. Blair couldn’t help thinking that the ship carried living beings inside her. Although these living beings were Grox, who were the most evil beings in the galaxy, it didn’t make it any less sad for Blair, who revered any form of life.

"Excellent, Chief! Very well done. Now we have to take care of the other one."

This time Blair took care of the smaller ships, which surrounded him as soon as he approached them. He shot them with mega proton missiles, which were weaker than anti-matter, so he needed to fire several at each ship to destroy them. They were really very powerful. Jim took care of the mother ship.

Once the Grox threat was over, a transmission to the intercom arrived.

_"Thank you, 'The Great'! You saved us! Please, come down in the capital city and we'll offer you a thank-you banquet."_

"I must tell you that I have had the help of Knight James from the Ellison Empire. Without his help this mission would have been very difficult."

_"Okay, 'The Great '. We extend our thanks to the Knight and he will also be welcome."_

They descended near the capital city. Leaving their respective ships, they found a delegation that received them. They entered the city and went to the Town Hall. There was an excellent meal served there. Luckily for Jim and Blair, the Taggart were omnivores, so there was plenty of meat and vegetables for each of them.

 

.............................................

 

After lunch, Blair and Jim met with the Mayor of the city, Joel. He was a tall being, almost the same height as Jim. Like all Taggart, he had green skin, with limbs, two arms and three legs, brown. He also had three eyes, yellow.

"I hope that with this visit you will finally embrace the faith in Spode, Blair," said Joel.

Blair smiled at this. He already expected that his ally was going to try to convert him to his faith, as he had many times before.

"As I have already told you, I have faith in life and in the Galaxy that all of us inhabit. As your god, Spode, is the representation of the Galaxy, I think I already have faith in him. I just won’t go to your temples or go to war with other empires to convert them to your faith," Blair said.

Joel looked at him with three narrowed eyes, a sign of disgust. He knew it was a lost cause to try to convert Blair, but whenever he saw him, he tried. He turned his gaze to Jim. Maybe the Knight would like to believe in Spode. But Jim spoke before Joel could try to convince him.

"Before you say anything, Mayor, I must tell you that those of the Ellison Empire only believe in the power of our weapons. We don’t have any religion, nor do we want to have it. We only believe in what we can see, touch, hear, smell or taste. There is no other reality for us."

Joel squinted again, but didn’t say anything at that. He raised the infusion of green spice he was drinking with his hand.

"To our friendship, Blair and James."

Raising their cups, the Shaman and the Knight also toasted their friendship. Blair couldn’t help noticing that Jim had referred to his five senses. Certainly his way of speaking was that of a Sentinel. He also noticed that Jim didn’t believe in the existence of a spiritual world, which was so real for Blair. He had to discuss these things with the Knight, as soon as he could.

 

tbc...


	4. Promp: Old enemy

They left the planet Agui and continued to travel the galaxy. They went through several systems inhabited by allies of the Sandburg Empire. Jim was amazed at Blair's ability to make friends. But at some point in their interstellar travel, they found an ally of the Ellisons.

It was in the planet Kularaibal, in the Mertas-5 system. The Banks Empire was an old acquaintance of the Ellison Empire, with Captain Simon being his most important emissary, and with whom Jim had a friendship. As they passed by, they received the invitation to go down to the planet of the Captain himself.

They descended on Kularaibal, near the capital city. Captain Simon was waiting for them. They got off their ships and Jim greeted Simon with a hug. Then he introduced Blair, who immediately liked the tall, dark brown skinned being. It inspired an air of authority, but Blair sensed that deep down he was very sensitive. His one eye in the middle of his forehead seemed to miss nothing.

Captain Simon led them to the city and inside it to a bar, where they sat down and asked for three glasses of yellow spice drink. Jim and Simon talked about what had happened in their lives since the last time they had met. Jim told him about his encounter with the Grox on the planet Agui.

"Yes," Simon said, "the Grox Empire is also an old enemy of ours. Luckily, lately they have left us a little quiet. However, we have heard that others have not been so fortunate."

"The civilization of the planet Agui would have been destroyed if we hadn’t appeared," Blair said, "I'm afraid that from that moment the Grox became my enemies as well. I destroyed some of their ships."

"How many ships of those damn Grox did you destroy, Jim? I bet many," Simon asked, smiling.

But Jim didn’t answer, he was staring at his glass of drink and didn’t even blink.

"Jim? What's wrong with you, man?" the Captain asked again. Blair stared at his partner. He remembered what he had talked with his mother, about how the Trader's son was sometimes paralyzed and not reacting around him. If Jim was that person, and Blair thought he was, surely he was also a Sentinel, because Blair had learned in his training as a Shaman, that the Sentinels were prone to fall into "zone-outs," moments when they lost contact with the world when they concentrated on just one of their senses too long. Then, Jim was experiencing a "zone-out".

Blair approached him and touched a forearm. "Jim," he said with a very low voice, "come back, I know what happens to you, I can help you. You have to come back, man."

Jim blinked and shook his head. Looking directly at Blair, he said, "What happened?"

"You were paralyzed, man, you should have told me that this could happen to you. How did they let you drive a spaceship with this problem?"

"My ship practically drives itself and also I programmed it to follow yours if something happened to me."

"I had already seen this happen to you, but it took me a lot longer than Blair to get you out of that episode. Simon said, frowning, his eye narrowed. "I would really like to know what's wrong with you."

"I know what's wrong," Blair said, "and I'd like to talk about that with you, Jim, but maybe it would be better in private."

"We can speak now. Simon is my friend, there's no problem he knows what you want to talk about."

Blair looked at Simon and he smiled in agreement. He took a deep breath and began.

"It has been documented in diverse cultures of diverse systems, from the tribal stage, that there exist among them individuals that possess a genetic advantage. That advantage is that they can perceive much more with their senses than the rest of us. They can see, hear, smell, taste and touch more acutely. Those guys are called Sentinels. Not only do they have hyper-senses, but a very strong compulsion to protect their tribe, their own. In tribal times, they were very important for the survival of the tribe. They could warn of any threat, including bad weather, and could locate animals to hunt. When different cultures entered the stage of civilization and, currently, the space stage, Sentinels became less necessary and scarcer. That's why today nobody, or almost nobody, knows about them."

While saying all this, Blair didn’t look at anyone in particular, but at that moment, he turned to Jim.

"I think you, Jim, are a Sentinel. You have a wonderful genetic advantage. I would like to test your senses, when we have the opportunity. But your advantage has a counterpart. The 'zone-outs'. That’s what episodes like the one you just had are called. That's why every Sentinel, in the past, had a partner who watched his back, so to speak, and helped him not to fall into those zone-outs or take him out of them if he couldn’t prevent it. He also helped the Sentinel to use his senses better, for the good of the community.

"What do you think of all this, Jim?"

Jim had listened to everything Blair had said very carefully, and at that moment he was frowning.

"I think it's great, except that I don’t know what those senses will serve me for. There are machines that can do all that, today."

"It's true, but we can’t take them with us all the time. When you are on a mission on a planet, it might be useful to see or hear things before others, even smell them. Anyway, you have those senses, why not use them?"

"Is there any way to get rid of them?"

"I don’t know. You have a magnificent gift, why get rid of it?"

"Because it hasn’t given me more than headaches so far."

At that moment, Simon raised his hand to interrupt.

"I remember that on the planet Feris-2, when we went on a mission, we would surely have all died if you hadn’t heard a giant beast approaching, a long time before anybody else could hear it. At that time we didn’t know it, but now I realize that your senses are great."

Jim lowered his head, defeated. "Yes, you may be right," he said.

Blair smiled when he saw his partner give in to the arguments of his two friends.

"As for that companion who helps the Sentinel, would that be you, Chief?" Jim said, looking at Blair.

"It would be an honor for me to help you with your senses, Jim. I think the correct term for that partner is Guide. I will be your Guide, Jim."

Jim extended his hand to Blair, who took it, delighted. Blair thought that handshake laid the foundation for a deep and fruitful friendship.

 

 


	5. Prompt: Wild Card (Creation of Life)

 

Jim and Blair continued to sail the galaxy, completing missions, helping as much as they could, and making allies. They also won medals by terraforming previously uninhabitable planets. Thanks to that and the large number of colonies they managed to found, Blair and Jim soon had the title of "Omnipotent." It sounded very grandiloquent, but it was just the way the inhabitants of the galaxy had to thank them for their help.

They talked a lot about the Sentinel theme. They even went down to a planet to test Jim's senses. They went into a forest, testing Jim's nose, recognizing different species of plants and animals, at a great distance. Also his sight and hearing, touch and taste would be tested later.

They had heard some time ago a legend that ran through the galaxy. It said that in the center of the galaxy there was a great hidden treasure. That treasure didn’t consist of gold and jewels, but something much more precious: the power to create life. That's why the Grox had concentrated around the center of the galaxy, to prevent anyone from reaching that treasure.

It was practically impossible to reach it, but Blair and Jim believed they could. Also, the authorities of the Sandburg Empire and the Ellison Empire believed that it was time to confront the Grox in their own turf, to show them that they were not as powerful as they thought they were. That is why Jim and Blair set about gathering resources to finance their crusade. They traveled from here to there selling spice of all the types they could.

When they had a respectable amount of sporebucks, they bought everything they would need to face their worst enemy. Anti-matter missiles, which could destroy several ships at once. Anti-matter bombs, which could destroy an entire city. A powerful weapon called Mega Pulse. A shield that would protect them, even for a short period of time. And the most feared weapon of all, the Planet Buster. They also bought enough energy packs to make their ships self-sufficient on the long journey.

They paid a visit to Simon, who advised them to buy a wormhole key, so they could get to the center of the galaxy more easily. They followed his advice.

Leaving the Sandburg Empire area and its allies’, they found two wormholes. They got into one of them, hoping it was the right one. The hole took them at incredible speed, within a vortex of energy. Finally, they came out on the other side, but they were on the other side of the galaxy, far from the center. But they weren’t discouraged, they turned back and went to the other wormhole they had found. This turned out to be the right one, took them right in the middle of the Grox Empire, very close to the center of the galaxy.

They prepared their weapons, because they knew that they were going to be attacked as soon as they approached a system colonized by their enemies. That was exactly what happened. They were attacked and quickly descended to a Grox planet to be able to put on the shield, which only worked when they were inside the atmosphere of a planet. Once sheltered, they launched anti-matter missiles, destroying the four ships that surrounded them. There was a Grox city, they went to it. Jim threw an anti-matter bomb and the city disappeared, leaving a huge black crater in its place.

Jim and Blair shouted through the intercom, celebrating their first Grox victory.

"Wow! Yes! We kicked their butts!" Blair yelled.

"We are the best, Chief!" Jim shouted. But then he calmed down, remembering that there was still a long way to go.

"Calm, Chief. We have to keep opening our way to the center."

"Yes, you're right, this is just the beginning," Blair replied.

They prepared to go to the next system, waiting a while for the shield to reload. When they were ready, they followed and were again attacked. They quickly disposed of the enemy ships. Jim suggested that this time they used the Planet Buster. Blair had his reservations about it, but then he thought that the planets that inhabited the Grox didn’t have any animal or vegetable species on their surface. They were totally deserted. That's why he agreed to use that weapon. Jim took care of that. They moved away quickly, while the planet exploded in trillions of pieces.

"Wow! It's the first time I’ve used this weapon. It's spectacular!" said Jim.

"I hope you only use it with the Grox, Jim."

"All right, Chief. I know you won’t let me use it against others. I don’t think I want to use it, either. It’s too destructive."

This made Blair smile. Maybe he could teach a bit of pacifism to the brave Sentinel Knight, after all.

They continued their way to the center of the galaxy, destroying ships and Grox cities, using the Planet Buster from time to time. They were an invincible duo.

After many ships, cities and planets destroyed, they finally reached the center of the galaxy. Blair and Jim couldn’t believe they were finally there. It seemed like they’d been fighting the Grox for a long time.

They entered the core of the galaxy and a vortex, even more wonderful and colorful than the wormholes, enveloped them. At that moment, they heard a deep and mysterious voice.

“Greetings, my friends!

“You have traveled very far and overcome many obstacles.

“Along the way you have encountered many of your diverse, far-flung siblings.

“Precious few of them will make it this far.

“Your heroic efforts have proven you deserving, worthy of advancement to the next level of your existence.

“The universe you inhabit is but one of many countless worlds, unseen but yet connected.

“Your creative efforts have not gone unnoticed.

“Indeed they have spilled into these other, unseen worlds just as your world has been enriched by them.

“It is now time for you to join us- -

“Join us! Mwahahahaha!!

“No, just kidding. It's not scary.

“Indeed. The times ahead, they are good.

“Really, really good.

“Some of you may ask, who is this mysterious voice who knows so much and possesses such great powers?

“I'm glad you asked...”

Then, the vortex stopped and a small ship appeared, from which came a completely different, somewhat squeaky voice.

“I'm Steve!

“You are now to be given the power.

“Yes, that's right, THE POWER.

“The power to create and spread life, intelligence and understanding throughout the cosmos.

“Use this power wisely.

“Use this power so that we may one day become AS ONE... that is... I mean... in a metaphorical sense.

“Oh... one last thing.

“We are nearly sold out on the last phase of a wonderful time-share opportunity on one of our larger stars- -and a rare planet in its orbit.

“If you are in the neighborhood, we'd love to have you by for a free breakfast and short presentation.

“Just look for the third rock from the Sun.”

After this strange speech, the little ship disappeared and they re-entered the vortex. When they came out of it, they were at the edge of the galaxy's core. They knew that if they left, they would be attacked again. At that moment, Blair remembered that he had a special tool. The Great Shaman with whom he had spoken some time ago had given him the ability to return to his home planet when he needed it. He had never used this skill. He hoped it would work now, when he was so far from his system. And that Jim could return with him.

Something made him look in the tools of his ship. Next to the scanner and the radar, there was a tool called "Return Ticket". Amazing! There it was, it was the first time he had seen it.

So, with Blair praying for it to work, they left the center of the galaxy and got into one of the Grox planets. They were attacked. Blair then used his tool and opened a portal in the form of a circle through which the two ships passed. Luckily, only they passed and the Grox ships were left behind.

They appeared instantaneously in the Infidors system, where the planet Tepsis was located.

"You want to explain what that was, Chief?" Jim couldn’t understand what had happened. Blair explained his vision, so long ago, and how the Great Shaman had given him that ability.

"It's great, Chief! But I really would have appreciated that you told me about that before using it. I also have a special ability as a Knight."

"Oh yeah? Which is it?"

"I can call a ship equal to mine to help me, when I need it."

"That's really cool, Jim! It can be very useful against the Grox."

"Yes, I didn’t use it before because we really didn’t need it."

They went to Blair's home planet, where they were received as heroes. The Council heard the story of his Shaman, being absolutely amazed at what they had achieved together with his ally from the Ellison Empire. They were entrusted with the mission of using the Staff of Life, for that was what they had received, terraforming and creating life on the planets of the Sandburg Empire that were still in stage T0, T1, or T2. Then they would do the same in the Ellison Empire.

The heroes said they accepted the mission, but that before they would take a few days to rest a little. They had really gone through quite an ordeal.

 

 


End file.
